Fabric covered figure toy having pivoting head



Aug. 26, 1969 R. LANG 3,462,877

FABRIC COVERED FIGURE TOY HAVING PIVOTING HEAD Filed May 27. 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 26, 1969 R. LANG 3,462,877

FABRIC covnman FIGURE TOY HAVING mvo'rmenmn Filed May 27. 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,462,877 FABRIC COVERED FIGURE TOY HAVING PIVOTING HEAD Ren Lang, Divonne-les-Bains, France Filed May 27, 1%6, Ser. No. 553,423 Claims priority, application Switzerland, Dec. 29, 1965, 18,015/ 65 Int. Cl. A6311 3/02, 3/36 [1.5. Cl. 46-159 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure concerns a toy having an inner shell which has at least two distinct pieces pivoted to one another, a covering of elastic plush material having dimensions slightly smaller than those of said shell stretched over the shell and gripping the shell elastically and concealing the pivoting of the pieces thereby giving continuity to the toy.

The present invention relates to a process for fabrication of a toy comprising a covering stretched on a rigid shell having the form of the toy.

The invention also relates to a toy obtained by this process.

Toys in plush constituted by a covering fashioned in the exterior shape of the toy are known in which a rigid frame is introduced through an appropriate opening in the covering the space between the frame and the covering being filled with straw or wood fibre packed around the frame. The covering is then closed by a sewn seam when the toy has taken the desired shape.

Such skilled work is evidently long and costly.

Other toys in plush are formed by a rigid shell on which are glued pieces of plush previously cut on the basis of patterns. Such pieces can always come unglued and the pieces of plush must be made particularly carefully in order to avoid that parts of the surface of the shell remain uncovered.

Toys in plush of which it is desired to hinge certain parts, for example the arms and the legs of animals, such as bears, are all constituted in as many elements as articulated parts, fixed the one to the other by systems more or less complicated: the articulation is in any case obviously visible so that such toys do not recall fully the real aspect of the corresponding animal. It has already been proposed to partially palliate this disadvantage by making the toys with a plush having a particularly long pile arranged in tufts so as to mask as much as possible the articulation with a screen of pile. This plush is however relatively costly and delicate.

The present invention aims to remedy the diverse disadvantages mentioned above and the process of the invention for fabricating a toy having a covering stretched on a rigid shell having the shape of the toy comprises the steps of making the covering of elastic material with its dimensions slightly smaller than those of the shell, inserting the shell in the covering which grips the shell elastically, and then closing the covering on the shell to give the toy its definite aspect.

The annexed drawings represent, by way of example,

one embodiment of a shell intended to permit the fabrication of a dog in plush by carrying out the process according to the invention:

FIGURE 1 is a lateral elevation of this shell.

FIGURE 2 represents on a larger scale the upper part of this shell, in another angular position of its element constituting the head of the animal.

FIGURE 3 is a section along III--III of FIGURE 2.

The process of fabricating the toy is put in operation by preparing a rigid shell having the shape of the toy to be made, in this particular case, a fox terrier dog.

This shell, which is preferably in plastic material, is constituted in the embodiment shown in FIGURE 1 by two elements, the one, A, forming the body and the legs of the dog, and the other, B, constituting the head and the neck of the dog movably fixed on the element A.

The neck end of the trunk A of the shell is provided with a cylindrical boss 1 on which is mounted with friction the part 2 of the element B constituting the neck of the animal. There is no member angularly locking the elements A and B so that it is quite possible to pivot the head B to move it for example from the position shown in FIGURE 1 to that of FIGURE 2.

The element B has two holes 3, at places provided for the securing of the eyes, and a hole 4 permitting the nose (not shown) of the animal to be fixed.

Independently of the shell, a covering is also prepared the covering being in elastic fabric of plush having dimensions slightly smaller than those of the shell. The shell is then placed inside the covering. Then the covering is closed by sewing or by any other adequate means on the shell and the toy is finished. This operation of closing puts the covering under a slight tension and the fabric then fits perfectly on the shell which marries all the anatomical contours and thus contributes to the improvement of the general aspect of the toy, which thus more closely approaches reality.

The elasticity of the fabric of the covering of the toy thus constituted in sufficient to permit the pivoting of the element B of the shell with respect to the element A by about without the fabric deteriorating or without the seams which assemble the different parts of the covering becoming undone.

The invention finds a particularly interesting use, but not exclusively, in the fabrication of toys in plush representing some animals with articulated members, such as for example bear cubs. If sufiices then to provide bosses, such as the boss 1 in the embodiment described, at the appropriate places and to engage on these bosses the elements constituting the members in an analogous manner to that which has been shown in FIGURE 1.

This possibility of articulation will have moreover an advantage in certain cases to facilitate the assembling of the toy, notably in the step of covering the shell by the made-up covering, for it will suffice to place if necessary the articulated parts in the position the most favourable for the assembling, even though they will be brought then to their normal position.

As a variant, and particularly when the fabricated toys will have relatively small dimensions or when their price will be particularly low, the shell can be monolithic, none of the parts being then able to be angularly displaced with respect to one another.

What is claimed is:

1. A toy comprising an inner shell including at least two distinct pieces pivoted to one another and a covering of elastic plush material having dimensions slightly smaller than those of said shell, said covering gripping said shell elastically and concealing the pivoting of said pieces thereby giving continuity to the exterior periphery of said toy, one of said pieces forming a hollow head element for said toy and the other piece forming a body therefor, said body having a neck portion with a recessed periphery said head fitting on said periphery.

2. Toy according to claim 1, wherein said pieces of 4 said shell form at least one of the pairs of the limbs of an animal or of a person.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,274,303 2/1942 Ornstein 46-158 ROBERT PESHOCK, Primary Examiner ROBERT F. CUTTING, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 46-16l, 164 

